श्री गणेशाय नमः ॥
Ganpati and Ganeshotsav
The Bhadrapada Shulka Chaturthi of the Shalivaahana Shaka calendar is celebrated by Hindus as Ganesh Chaturthi. It usually coincides with the August-September period of the Gregorian Calendar.
Ganesh or Ganapati is the deity of auspicious beginnings. Don’t want to delve much into the details about Ganesha, but the curious reader can read this article from Wikipedia. Invoking Ganesha at the beginning of all things good is so much part of Hindu culture that the phrase ‘to do Shree Ganesha’ is used to denote a new beginning.
In Maharashtra, the period from Ganesh Chaturthi to Anant Chaturdashi an 11 days period is the period of celebration of the Ganapati Festival. The Ganapati festival also coincides with certain rituals and fasts meant for the deity Gouri. So it is a Gouri-Ganapati Festival. The day before Chaturthi, that is Tritiya is observed as Hartalika Vrat by the Hindu womenfolk. The Gauri festival (also known as Mahalaxmi in some parts of Maharashtra) consists of three days. So at a domestic level, it is a Gauri-Ganpati festival, and at the public level, it is Ganpati-Utsav.
The domestic annual rituals and festivities on Ganesh Chaturthi and days around it have been there even before the start of the public Utsav. The public celebration of Ganesh Utsav had started in Pune around 1893CE. Mr Bhausaheb Rangari was the founder of the first public Ganeshotsav Mandal. It was Lokmanya Tilak, a stellar figure in the national politics of India at that time, who gave the scale and support to this celebration. He saw it as an opportunity to unite masses for a common cause and use that opportunity to infuse nationalism, patriotism, and longing for Swarajya in the minds of common people. Ever since that period, it has become a significant public movement. Soon all the major towns and cities of Maharashtra and even some outside Maharashtra started following the tradition.
The gully-level public Ganeshotsav is an opportunity to showcase talent for kids and youth alike through Atharvashirsha Gayan, Sugam Gayan also by making idols and paintings. It is also taken as an opportunity for aspiring leaders to showcase their clout to the general public. The original public awareness campaign mode has changed in various forms of late. Post the economic liberalization of the 1990s the Ganpati festival too, like other festivals, has become commercialized as corporates see this as an opportunity to advertise and sell their products.
About Miraj and Ganpati
Miraj is a historical town in the south of Maharashtra with known historical references from the 10th Century CE. After passing on from Yadavs to the Delhi Sultanate of Khaljis it later went to the Bahamani Saltane, the Adilshahi, and the Mughals. Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj of Satara conquered the fortress of Miraj in 1739CE. Thus the Miraj Prant was annexed to the Maratha Empire. It was given as a fiefdom to Patwardhans from 1761CE by Peshwe Madhav Rao. It became a princely state under British protection from 1818CE to 1857CE and later a tributary princely state to the British crown till the Independence of India. It became free from the British yoke on the 15th of August 1947. In March 1948 when it was officially taken over by the Indian Government.
The ancestors of Patwardhans were from a small town called Kotawade in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. Shree Harbhatt Patwardhan, father of noted Sardars Govind Hari and Ramchandra Hari was a noted Ganesha bhakta and Ganesha gave him Drishtanta and told his future generations will have a very bright future. He was a devotee of the Ganapatipule Devasthan. Hence Ganapatipule and Miraj have had a strong connection ever since. If you get the percentage of Hindus observing the Sankashti fast (the Chaturthi of the Vadya Paksha of Hindu months) the percentage will be significantly higher compared to other areas. Many people go to Ganpati Pule on Sankashti day from Miraj-Sangli area.
The Ganesh Temple (Talyavarcha Ganpati) and Ganesh Talav of Miraj were built circa 1798CE.
The Talyavarcha Ganpati Miraj
Later in 1801 when the Miraj Jagir was split between Miraj and Sangli. Chintamanrao the first, the first chief of Sangli, had built a temple in Sanglikar Mala (A farm field just outside Miraj). When he planned and developed the Sangli town as his capital, he constructed the famous Ganapati Panchayatan Mandir of Sangli. Similarly, Tasgaon has its own Ganapati temple that is unique by its Gopuram. The Patwardhans developed small towns like Ganeshwadi and Haripur those also have Ganpati Temples.
A rupee coin struck at the Miraj Mint is called The ‘Ganapati-Pantapradhan’ rupee is a numismatic rarity. It has “श्री गणपती” struck on it on the observe side. It shows reverence of the local rulers to the lord Ganesh.
The first public Ganesh Festival celebration in Miraj was held in 1897CE at Watave Galli and the Buwacha Houd Ganpati established in 1901CE is the oldest continuously serving Ganesh Mandal of the town. There are around 350 Ganesh Mandals in Miraj. The first printed record of an immersion procession (Visarjan Miravnuk) is that of 1935. From 1979 there was a new introduction of Swagat Kaman (A decorated arch temporarily raised to welcome the procession) by Mr Ashok Khatavkar of Hindu Ekta Andolan later many other organizations added up their arches. The arch of Hindu Ekta used to be adored by decorative paintings made by noted fine artist Mr Sharad Apte. Likewise the Maratha Mahasangh arch used to be adorned with painting by Ugare arts. In the 21st century painstakingly handmade art has given way to digital photoshopping.
This 40-year-old tradition of Swagat Kaman was interrupted in 2019CE due to floods and in 2020 and 21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the Miraj Ganesh Visarjan Miravnuk is notable for its long hours. It lasts till the early next day morning and draws a huge crowd.
Personal notes on Ganpati Festval
We observe the Ganpati Festival for five days at our home. The Visarjan day varies with family traditions and varies from 1 and a half-day to 11 days, ours is the 5th. One curious feature is we bring 2 Ganesh idols instead of 1. One of them undergoes Prana-pratishthapana with last year’s Darshani Ganapati and the second becomes the next year’s Darshani Ganapati. On the fifth day, the 2 with Prana-pratishthapana undergo visarjan while the remaining idol is kept for Darshan (hence called Darshani) for the next year. Our family Murtikars (idol-makers) are Kurundwadkar Joshi and the mould has been constant for many decades. The idols are brought home on the afternoon of Hartalika day and Pran-pratishthapana takes place on Chaturthi morning. The evening aarti is the time when the extended family gets together.
Even when I was away from home for studies, we used to have the Ganpati celebration in our hostel. When I was in Hyderabad, I realised that even outside Maharashtra Ganeshotsav is a big festival with a lot of following. The visit to Khairatabad Ganesh reminded me of the craze for Lalbagcha Raja when I was in Parel. Then there is the unique tradition of Balapur Ganesh Laddu. The apartment complex where I used to stay also celebrated 5 days Ganeshotsav. A notable difference I noted in Hyderabad Ganeshotsav was that the domestic Ganesh Murthis were earthen without much colour while the public pandal Murthis were richly coloured. The Marathi community Mandals also arrange cultural programmes and get-togethers.
The Ganesh festival is a fine opportunity to refreshen the tradition. It refreshes the rituals for the adults and teaches to the young kids. The aartis connect us to our great Sant Kavis of the past. While Sukhakarta Dukhaharta connects to Sant Ramdas, Trigunatmak Traimurti connects to someone born a century earlier: Sant Eknath. Usually, the last line of each aarti contains the name of its composer. The 5 unrelated stanzas sung together at the end of aartis as a Prarthana is also a very good example of the mixing of many traditions. The first is composed by Sant Namdev, the second is by Adi Shankaracharya, the third is part of Bhagwat Purana, the fourth again by Shankaracharya and the fifth a part of Kalisantarpana Upanishad. It has a fast pace. The ritual ends with Mantrapushpanjali, which is a slow recital, has its sources in the Vedic literature. After this, the teerthprasad are served.
The Ganeshotsav connects me to the uninterrupted traditions carried over many generations. The generations change but Ganpati remains the same. This festival is the common thread that continually keeps on connecting every next generation to a long string of devotion and worth inheriting and passing it on.
At the public level, it is a great opportunity to come together for the masses. It is a source of income for many people like the Murtikars (idol-makers), Mandap Decorators, Disc Jockeys, Flexboard Advertisers and many more. These days, due to social media, it gives a big opportunity for content makers too. Truly the deity of all vidyas and kalas (techniques and arts) gives livelihood to thousands of technicians and artisans. My only worry is that through this scaling up and increased emphasis on the optics, the Ganesh Bhakti core and traditional ethos should not be compromised.
Wish you all a happy Ganeshotsav. May Ganesha bless all with wisdom and good health.
